Combustion turbine system



July 15, 1952 J. L. RAY

COMBUSTION TURBINE SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. 28, 1943 Patented July 15,1952 2,603,063 COMBUSTION TURBINE SYSTEM James L. Ray, Long Beach,Calii., assignor to Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, Milwaukee,Wis.

Continuation of application Serial No. 507,969, October 28, 1943. Thisapplication May 19,

1950, Serial No. 162,901

Claims.

This invention, originally disclosed in copending application Serial No.507,969, filed October 28, 1943; now abandoned, of which the presentapplication is a continuation, relates to the control and regulation ofcontinuous combustion gas turbine systems embodying separate compressordriving and excess power developing turbine receiving motive fluid fromone or more combustion chambers in which the pressure of the motivefluid is subject to change in response to variations in the quantity ofmotive fluid entering the power turbine and has for its primary objectthe maintenance of a high degree of overall system efliciency as theload output of the power turbine varies.

More particularly, the invention resides in varying the flow capacityand the power output of the compressor turbine as the quantity of fluidentering the power turbine changes in order to compress and deliver tothe combustion chamber a quantity of air commensurate with the powerrequirements of both turbines. In other words, the flow capacity and thepower output of the compressor turbine are varied as the load on thepower turbine changes in order to develop and apportion to said turbinesmotive fluid commensurate in quantity and energy content with theirrespective load requirements.

Accordingly, the invention consists of the variou procedures,correlations of features and arrangements of parts as is more fully setforth in the appended claims and in the detailed description, in which:

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a continuous combustion turbine systemembodying the invention; and

Fig. 2 illustrates a modifying connection between the power turbinegovernor and the pressure and temperature responsive devices.

Referring to the drawing, it is seen that a continuous combustion gasturbine system embodying the invention may include a combustion gasgenerating means or combustion chamber I provided with a fluid fuelburner 2 to which fuel is supplied from a suitable source (not shown)through a pipe 3 in which is disposed a regulating valve 4, a compressor6 delivering air to the burner and of combustion chamber I through aconduit I, a multistage turbine 8 drivingly connected with thecompressor 6 and having a first or high and one or more intermediatepressure stage inlet portions 9, II and I2 connected with the oppositeor discharge end of combustion chamber I by means of conduits I 3; I8and I4, respectively, valves I1 and I8 controlling the flow of gasthrough conduits I4 and I6, respectively,

and an excess power developing turbine I9 drivbine I9 have'reciprocableelements 28 and 29, re-

spectively, interconnected for jointly and severally actuating theregulating valve 4 by means of a floating lever 3I having one endconnected with element 28, a lever 32 which is fulcrumed intermediateits ends at 33 and has one connected with element 29, a link 34interconnecting the adjacent ends of levers 3I and 32, a link" 36connecting an intermediate portion of lever 3I with one end or afloating lever 31, a link 38 connecting an intermediate portion of lever3! with one arm of a bell crank lever 39 and a link 4I connecting theother arm of hell crank lever 39 with the valve 4. The opposite end offloating lever 31 is connected by means of a link 42 with anintermediate portion of afloating lever 43 which has its opposite endsconnected with temperature and pressure regulating or limiting devices44 and 46, respectively, for movement jointly and severally as thetemperature and/or pressure of the gas within the combustion chambervaries or exceeds predetermined limits. The throttle valve 24 in conduit23 is operatively connected with the element 29 of governor 21 formovement therewith .by means of a bell crank lever 41 and a link 48.

The hereinbefore described interconnection of governors 26 and 21 issuch that when the system is in operation, an increase in the speed ofcompressor turbine 8 (in any system embodying the invention, the speedof the compressor is always the same or proportional to that of theturbine driving same) results in an upward movement of element 28, aclockwise movement of floating lever 3I about its point of pivotalconnection with link 34, an upward movement of link 36, a clockwisemovement of floating lever31 aboutits point of pivotal connection withlink 42, an upward movement of link 38, a clockwise movementof bellcrank lever 39, a movement of link 4I toward the left, and a closingmovement of valve 4. Obviously, if the speed of the compressor turbinedecreases, the element 28 of governor 26 moves downward and effects anopening movement of the valve 4. However, if the speed of the powerturbine I9 increases, the element 29 of governor 21 moves closingmovement of the valve 4. Obviously, a'decrease in the speed of powerturbine. i9 will move element 29 of governor 2'! in the oppcs'ite-dh'ec,

tion and effect an opening movement of botvalves, that is, the valvesdesignated 4 and 24.

to its fully open position, that a further upward movement of piston 5|moves valve 11 from its fully closed to its fully open position, andthat the opening of valves I8 and/or I! as just described reduces thenumber and/or effectiveness of ,the active or. power producing stages inthe tuEbine BQWhich. materially decreases the resistance to the flow ofgas therethrough and thereby greatly increases its flow capacity.

The valves l1 and E8 in conduits. l4 and .lfi are arranged to besequentially opened and closedby a servomotor 49 having a piston 5|provided with oppositely extending stem or rod portions. 52 and 53 ofwhich rod portioniBi-i is connected with an intermediate portion of alever element 54 having. its opposite ends connected with the valvesHand l8 by means of links 56 and.5'l, respectively; and of which rodportion 52 is-connected with one endof' a lever 58 which is fulcrumedintermediate its end at 5-9.andhas its other end connected with anintermediate portion o f;a floating lever 6| by means of a link 62.Oneend of lever 6|. is connected by a link 63 to a portion ofg'lever 32intermediate its fulcrum 33- and its pointjof connection. with governore1ement29, and the other end of lever fil is connected with the stem ota balanced pilot valve Mwhich controls the.- connection. between thefluid supply pipe 66 and, the pipes 61 and 6S and between the pipes 61and 68- andthe drain or return pipes 69 and] l, respectively; theconstruction beingsuch that whenthe valve 64 is in its neutral or shownposition no fluid flows-into or out-of servomotor49, that when. thevalve 64 is moved downward from the:- positionshown, fluid underpressure ispadmittedto the upper side of piston 5|. through pipe 61 andthe fluid beneath the piston is free to flow therefrom through pipes 68and II, that when the valve is moved upward from the posiof the elementand a fixed support 13- and up-' ward1 movementof the right hand end ofelement 54- aided by a tension spring- (-5 and is limitedby anadjustable stop; 14. Consequently, as the servomotor piston 5| movesupward from its shown position, lever element 54 moves in .acounterclock-wise direction about its point of pivotalconnection withlink 56 and until the right hand end thereof engages stop-l4 atter whicha further upward movement of piston 5| results in lever element54-moving in a clockwise direction aboutitspoint of pivotal connectionwithlink 51 andluntil the. spring l2l isfully compressed; further upwardmovement of theservomotor piston and damage tothe parts normallyactuated by the rod portion 53 thereof beingpermitted and prevented,respectively, .by the resiliently interconnected parts I6 of rodportion.5.3..

, It should now. be obvious that an upward movement of servomotor piston5! from. its shown positionfirstmoves valve 18 from. its fully closedThe movement of pilot valve 64 away from its neutral position iseffected by the governor 21 of power turbine 13; the arrangement beingsuch that when. the speed of the power turbine increases, itbeing;assumed that the various parts are shown as positioned to obtain amaximum powerzoutput fromboth turbines, the element 29 of; governor,zlwill. move downward and simultaneously'effect (a) a closing movementof throttle valve 2.4, (b) a closing movement of fuel valve 4, and (c)an upward movement of pilot valve 64 which in turn operates servomotor49 to move valve I8 toward'its fully open position. A partial closing ofthrottle valve 24 tends to increase the pressure of the-motivefluidwithin combustion chamber I and as a result. the speed of the compressormay increase sufliciently to deliver more air to the combustion chamberand to render governor 25 operable to effect a further closing movementof fuel valve 4. However, although the delivery of more air to thecombustion chamber does tend to further increase the pressure of themotive fluid, the closing movement of. fuel valve 4 reducesthe heatinputand thereby the temperature and to some extent the pressure of themotive fluid while a partial opening of valve l8 also. operates. toreduce the pressure of the motive fluid by decreasing the resistance tothe, flow of motive fluid through the turbine 8 which in turnincreasesits flowcapacity with. a corresponding decrease in the power developedthereby. I

Obviously, with the parts positioned as previously assumed, the. extentto which the throttle and fuel regulating; valves 24 and'4,respectively, are closed and. the extent to which the-valves I8 and/or Hare opened depends entirely upon how much load is removed from the powerturbine I9. If, for example, the load on the power turbine drops tozero, the throttle valve 24 will be nearly or fully closed,v the fuelregulating valve 4 will remain open. suificiently to meet the. heatinput power requirements of thecompressor turbine, and the valves [8 andI! will. be fully open. If when the valves are positioned as justdescribed, the load on: the power. turbine increases, the speed willcommence to decrease and the element 29 of governor 21 will move upwardeffecting a counterclockwise movement of lever 32 and a consequentopening movement of fuel valve 4 and a downward movement of. pilot valve64; the latter admitting fluid under pressure to the top side of piston5| which moves downward and effects a counterclockwise movement of leverelement 54 about: its point of pivotal connection with link 51 andthereby a closing movement of valve IT. The primary'function of tensionspring 15 being to hold the right handend of lever element 54 againststop 14- until the valve I1 is fully closed whereupon a further downwardmovement of piston 5! causes lever element 54 to pivot clock wise aboutits-point of connection with link 56 and movev valve I8 toward its fullyclosed position against the action of spring 15.

As previously indicated, a. closing movement oi throttle valve 24increases the resistance. to the flow of motive fluid through theconduit 23 and thereby tends to increase the pressure of the motivefluid within the combustion chamber while the opening of valves l1 andI8 reduces the resistance to the flow of motive fluid through theturbine 8 and thereby tends to decrease the pressure of the motivefluid; the opening and closing movement of the valves l1, l8 and'24being preferably" so correlated in the illustrated system that thepressure of the motive fluid within the combustion chamber increases anddecreases as the load on the power turbine increases and decreases,respectively. 'In this connection, the power developed by compressorturbine 8 is proportional to the drop in pressure and temperature of thegases passing therethrough and by properly selecting the number andlocation of the inlets to the intermediate pressure stages of thecompressor turbine and by properly correlating the admission of motivefluid to said inlets with the admission of motive fluid to the powerturbine, the power developed by the compressor turbine and thereby thequantity of air delivered to the combustion chamber can be read-v ilyvaried in accordance with the power requirements of the system for allconditions of load while maintaining the air near the maximumpermissible operating temperature in order to obtain high 'efliciency.The number and the location of the inlets to the intermediate stages ofthe compressor turbine and the particular manner in which the admissionof 'motive'fiu'id to said inlets is correlated with the admission ofmotive fluid to the power turbine is of course dependent upon theoperating characteristics of the turbines and compressor which can-bereadily determined by any one skilled in the art and having oncedetermined said characteristics and the nature of load to be carried bythe system upon whether the best efliciency for a changing load isobtained by varying the quantity and the temperature and/or pressure ofthe motive fluid or by merely varying the quantity of motive fluid whilemaintaining its temperature and pressure at the optimum values.

In the disclosed embodiment of the invention, the turbine and compressorcharacteristics and the nature of load may be assumed to be such thatmaximum thermal efliciency is obtained'by maintaining the temperature ofthe motive fluid substantially constant at a predetermined valuethroughout the entire load range. Consequently, the position of the fuelregulating valve 4 and thereby the heat input to the system iscontrolled jointly and severally by governors 26 and 21 in I order tomaintain the temperature of the motive fluid substantially constant asthe load on the power turbine varies and the positions of valves [1, l8and 24 are controlled by governor 21 in order to vary and apportion thequantity of motive fluid flowing through the turbines in accordance withtheir respective load requirements while maintaining the pressure of themotive fluid within the combustion chamber at an optimum value; thefunction of the temperature and pressure responsive devices 44 and 46being in this case to terminate operation of the system whenever thetemperature and/ or pressure of the motive fluid exceeds predeterminedmaximum limits. However, if the operating characteristics of theturbines and compressor and nature of the load to be carried by thesystem are such as to necessitate varying the quantity and thetemperature and/or pressure of the motive fluid in order to obtain thebest overall efliciency, this can be readily done with the illustratedapparal8 and 24 are opened and: closed in response't a predetermineddegree of load change. i The invention is applicable to all types ofcombustion turbine systems embodying separate compressor driving andexcess power developing turbines and although the'invention' has beenshown and disclosed in connection with a system embodying only onecombustion chamber and only one compressor driving and one excess powerdeveloping turbine, it should be understood that it is not desired tolimit the invention torvthe exact details of construction and modes ofoperation herein shown and described, as various modifications withinthe scope of the claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

It is ,claimedand desired to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A gas turbine system, comprising: a' 'combustion gas generating meanshaving a fuel inlet; a compressor delivering air to said generatingmeans; a turbine drivingly connected with said compressor; an excesspower developing turbine; said com-pressor'turbine and said powerturbine having separately rotatable drivingv shafts; means severallyconnecting an inlet to'said compressor turbine and an inlet to saidpower turbine with said generating means; means responsive'to change inload on said power turbine; means responsive directly and solely to saidload responsive means for varying the flow of gas to said power turbine;and means responsive to said load responsive" means'for varying the flowthrough said fuel inlet;

2'. A gas turbine system, comprising: a combustion gas generating meanshaving a fuel inlet; a compressor delivering air to said generating'means; a turbine drivingly connected with said compressor; an'excesspower developing turbine; said compressor turbine and said power turbinehaving separately rotatable driving shafts; means severally connectingan 'inlet to said compressor turbine and an inlet to said power' turbine'with said generating, means; means responsive to change in load on saidpower turbine; valve means for controlling the flow of gas to'said powerturbine in response tosaid load change responsive means to increaseanddecrease said flow in the same sense as change in load; valve means forcontrolling the flow of fuel through said fuel inlet in response to saidload change responsive means to increase and decrease said fuel flow inthe same sense as change in load; second load responsive meansresponsive to changes in load on said compressor turbine; and meansresponsive to said second load responsive means for controlling saidfuel valve means to increase and decrease the fuel flow in .the samesense as change in load on, said compressor turbine. a a h 3. A.gasturbine system, comprising: a combustion gas generating means havinga fuel inlet; a compressor delivering air to said generating means; aturbine drivingly connected with said compressor; an excess powerdeveloping turbine; said-compressor turbine andsaid power turbine ;haying separately rotatablezrdrivingt aces-pea shafts; means severallyconnecting, an inlet to said compressor turbine. and; an: inlet .to:said power turbine with said generating means; means responsivetochangeinload on said power turbine; means responsive to. said load responsivemeans-for varying theflow of gas to said power turbine; second. loadresponsive meansresponsive to-the loadro'n saidcompressor turbine; andmeans responsive to said second load responsive means; for varying; theflow through said fuel inlet; f 7

4. A gas" turbine system; comprising: i a combustion: gas generatingmeans having a fuel inlet; a compressor delivering air to saidgenerating means; a turbine drivingly connected with said compressor; anexcess power developing turbine; saidcompressor turbine and said powerturbine having separately rotatable driving shafts; means severallyconnecting an inlet to said compressor turbine and an inlet to saidpower turbine with said generating means;

means responsive'to changein load on saidpower' turbine; meansresponsive directly and solely tosaid load responsive means-for varyingthe flow of gas to said power turbine; means-responsive to said loadresponsive means for varying the flow through said fuel inlet; secondload re sponsive meansresponsive to changes in load on said compressorturbine; and means responsive-to said second load responsive means forvarying the flow throughsaid fuel inlet.

5.A- gas turbine system, comprising: a combustion gas generating meanshaving a fuel inlet; a compressordelivering air to said generatingmeans; a multistage turbine drivingly connected with saidcompressor andhaving separate inlets for the first and one or more intermediate stagesthereof; an exeesspower developing turbine; said compressor turbine andsaid power turbine having separately rotatable driving shaftsrespectively; means severally connecting said separate inlets fortheiirst and one or more intermediate stages of said compressor turbineand the inlet to said power turbine directly with said generating means,and means responsive to change in load on said power turbine forcontrolling the direct flow of gas to an intermediate stage of saidcompressor turbine.

6. A gas turbine system, comprising: a combustion-gas generating meanshaving a fuel inlet; a compressor delivering air to said generating.means; a multistage turbine drivingly connectedwithsaidcompressor andhaving separate inlets'for the first and one or more intermediate stagesthereof; an excess power developing turhim; said compressor turbine andsaid power turbine having separately rotatable driving shaftsrespectively; means severally connecting said'separate inlets for thefirst and one or more intermediate stages ofsaid compressor turbine andthe inlet to said power turbine with said generating means, and meansresponsive to change in load on said power turbine for controlling thedirect flow of gas to an intermediate stage of said compressor turbine;second load responsive means responsive to change in load on saidcompressor turbine; and means responsive to said second load responsivemeans for varying the flow through said fuel inlet.

7. A gas turbine system, comprising: a combustion gas generating means;a compressor delivering air to said generating means; a multi-- stageturbine drivingly connected with said com pressor and having separateinlets for the first and one or more intermediate stages thereof; anexcess power developing turbine; said com pressor turbine andsaid powerturbine. having separately rotatable'driving shafts respectively; meansseverally connecting said separate inlets for the first and oneor moreintermediate stages of said compressor turbine and. the inlet to saidpower turbine; directly with 'said' generating means;-means-,responsiveto change in load on said power turbine; .valve means responsive to.

said load responsive-means interposed between said inletjto said powerturbine and said generating means forcontrolling the flow of gas to saidpower turbine; and valvemeans responsive.

to said load responsive means interposed between an-intermediate stageof said compressor turbine and said generating'means for controlling thedirect flow of gas from said generating means to said' intermediatestage.

8. A gas turbine system, comprising: a combustion gas generating means;a compressor delivering air to saidgenerating means; a multi--stage'turbine drivingly connected with said compressor and havingseparate inlets for the first and one or more intermediate stagesthereof;

an-excess power developing turbine; said com pressor turbine and-saidpower turbine having separately rotatable driving shafts respectively;means severally connecting said separate inlets for the'first and oneormore'intermediate stages of said compressorturbine and the inlet to saidpower turbine directly with said generating.

means;'- means responsive to change in load on said power turbine; valvemeans responsive to said load responsive means interposed between saidinlet to said power turbine and said gen erating means for controllingthe flow of gas to said power turbine to' increase and decrease saidflow in the same sense as change in load; and valve-means responsive tosaid load responsive intermediatemeans interposed between an stage ofsaid compressor turbine andsaid generatingi'means' forcontrolling. thedirect flow of gas from said generating means to said intermediate stageto increase and decrease said flow in the opposite sense of change inload.

9. A gas turbine system, comprisingr'a combustion gas generating meanshaving a fuelv inlet; a compressor delivering air to said generating.means; a multistage turbine drivingly connected withsaid compressor andhaving separate inlets for the first'and one or more intermediate stagesthereof; an excess powerdeveloping. turbine; said compressor turbine andsaid power turbine 'having. separately rotatable driving shaftsrespectively; meansseverally connecting said separate inlets forthe'first and one or more intermediate stages of said compressor turbineand the inlet to said power turbine directly with said generating means;means responsive to change in load on said power turbine; valve meansresponsive to said load responsive means interposed between said inletto said power turbineand said generating means for controlling the flowof gas to said power turbine; valve means responsive to said loadresponsive means interposed between an intermediate stage of saidcompressor turbine and said generating means for controlling the directflow of gas from said generating means to said intermediate stage; andvalve means responsive to said loadresponsive means for controlling theflow through said fuel inlet. j

10. A gas turbine system, comprising: a-combustion gas generating meanshaving a fuel in let;- a compressor delivering ai'r tosaid generat ingmeans; a multistage turbine drivingly con nected with said compressorand having separate inlets for the first and one or more intermediatestages thereof; an excess power developing turbine; said compressorturbine and said power turbine having separately rotatable drivingshafts respectively; means severally connecting said separate inlets forthe first and one or more intermediate stages of said compressor turbineand the inlet to said power turbine directly with said generating means;means responsive to change in load on said power turbine; meansresponsive directly and solely to said load responsive means for varyingthe flow of gas to said power turbine; means responsive to said loadresponsive means for varying the direct flow of gas to an intermediatestage of said compressor turbine; and means responsive to said loadresponsive means for varying the fiow through said fuel inlet.

11. A gas turbine system, comprising: a combustion gas generating meanshaving a fuel inlet; a compressor delivering air to said generatingmeans; a multistage turbine drivingly connected with said compressor andhaving separate inlets for the first and one or more intermediate stagesthereof; an excess power developing turbine; said compressor turbine andsaid power turbine having separately rotatable driving shaftsrespectively; means severally connecting said separate inlets for thefirst and one or more intermediate stages of said compressor turbine andthe inlet to said power turbine directly with said generating means;means responsive to change in load on said power turbine; meansresponsive directly and solely to said load responsive means for varyingthe flow of gas to said power turbine; means responsive to said loadresponsive means for varying the direct flow of gas to an intermediatestage of said compressor turbine; means responsive to said loadresponsive means for varying the flow through said fuel inlet; secondload responsive means responsive to changes in load on said compressorturbine; and means responsive to said second load responsive means forvarying the flow through said fuel inlet.

12. A gas turbine system, comprising: a combustion gas generating meanshaving a fuel inlet; a compressor delivering air to said generatingmeans; a turbine drivingly connected with said compressor; an excesspower developing turbine; said compressor turbine and said power turbinehaving separately rotatable driving shafts; means severally connectingan inlet to said compressor turbine and an inlet to said power turbinewith said generating means; means responsive to change in load on saidpower turbine; valve means associated with said power turbine inletresponsive directly and solely to said load responsive means for varyingthe flow of gas to said power turbine; and means responsive to said loadresponsive means for varying the flow through said fuel inlet.

13. A gas turbine system, comprising: a combustion gas generating meanshaving a fuel inlet; a compressor delivering air to said generatingmeans; a turbine drivingly connected with said compressor; an excesspower developing turbine; said compressor turbine and said power turbinehaving separately rotatable driving shafts; means severally connectingan inlet to said compressor turbine and an inlet to said power turbinewith said generating means; means responsive to change in load on saidpower turbine; valve means associated with said power turbine inlet andresponsive to said load responsive means for varying the fiow of gas tosaid power turbine in the same sense as the change in load on said powerturbine; second load responsive means responsive to the load on saidcompressor turbine;

and means responsive to said second load responsive means for varyingthe flow through said fuel inlet.

'14. A gas turbine system, comprising: a combustion gas generating meanshaving a fuel inlet; a compressor delivering air to said generatingmeans; a turbine drivingly connected with said compressor; an excesspower developing turbine; said compressor turbine and said power turbinehaving separately rotatable driving shafts; means directly and severallyconnecting an inlet to said compressor turbine and an inlet to saidpower turbine with said generating means; means responsive to change inload on said power turbine; valve means associated with said powerturbine inlet and responsive solely to said load responsive means forvarying the flow of gas to said power turbine in the same sense as thechange in load on said power turbine; means responsive to said loadresponsive means for varying the flow through said fuel inlet; secondload responsive means responsive to changes in load on said compressorturbine; and means responsive to said second load responsive means forvarying the flow through said fuel inlet.

15. A gas turbine system, comprising: a combustion gas generating meanshaving a fuel inlet; a compressor delivering air to said generatingmeans; a multistage turbine drivingly connected with said compressor andhaving separate inlets for the first and one or more intermediate stagesthereof; an excess power developing turbine; said compressor turbine andsaid power turbine having separately rotatable driving shaftsrespectively; means d rectly and severally connecting said separateinlets for the first and one or more intermediate stages of saidcompressor turbine and the inlet to said power turbine with saidgenerating means; means responsive to change in load on said powerturbine; valve means associated with said power turbine inlet andresponsive directly and solely to said load responsive means for varyingthe fiow of gas to said power turbine; valve means associated with atleast one of said intermediate stage inlets and responsive to said loadresponsive means for varying the direct flow of gas to an intermediatestage of said compressor turbine; means responsive to said loadresponsive means for varying the flow through said fuel inlet; secondload responsive means responsive to changes in load on said compressorturbine; and means responsive to said second load responsive means forvarying the flow through said fuel inlet.

= JAMES L. RAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,095,991 Lysholm Oct. 19, 19372,225,310 Lindhagen Dec. 17, 1940 2,238,905 Lysholm Apr. 22, 19412,365,616 Zweifel Dec. 19, 1944 2,371,889 Hermitte Mar. 20, 1945

